Shakira Leaving 'The Voice' To Make Room For Original Judge Christina Aguilera

Shakira is leaving “The Voice” after only one season as a judge on the hit NBC singing-competition show. Deadline reports that Shakira will step down to make room for original judge Christina Aguilera. Coincidentally, the show's host Usher will also step down.

On the fourth season of “The Voice,” original judges Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera both left the show, leading to the hiring of new temporary judges alongside Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.

In their places, Usher and Shakira joined the cast of “The Voice.”

Unfortunately for some fans, Shakira was never intended to be a permanent replacement for original judge Christina Aguilera. Though Aguilera and Cee Lo Green were both judges for the first three seasons of “The Voice,” the two took a sabbatical for this season to focus on their music careers, which are their primary jobs. Aguilera left to promote her latest album, “Lotus,” which debuted last November.

“Everybody can’t coach for life, because when you have people with current recording in the game, this is not their job,” producer Mark Burnett told Deadline. “Their job is their fans and making music and being live, and so we knew from the beginning that this would happen, and we’ve had six coaches. They all have another life and their schedules.”

Meanwhile, the show's biggest competitor, “American Idol,” seems poised to lose all of its judges just in time for next season. According to CNN, "Idol"’s only remaining original judge, Randy Jackson, is set to leave at the end of the year, while judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have been embroiled in a very public feud and threatened to leave at the end of this season. As Fox News insiders put it, “Even if Minaj doesn’t return to the panel next season, Carey won’t be back.”

It’s possible that the implosion on “American Idol” will spell good things for Aguilera and “The Voice.” NBC saw its highest ratings for “The Voice” in season 2, but with its chief competitor suffering major internal problems, season 5 might be the best season ever for the NBC show.

Shakira’s final episode on “The Voice” airs June 18. Aguilera and Green will return for season five, restoring the show's original judging lineup.